"Waiting for Superman"

Today I went to go see the movie, “Waiting for Superman.” I picked up my buddy, who wanted to go, and headed to the cinemopolis in Ithaca for a bro-date. When we got there, we got our tickets and headed to the theatre. When I sat down I saw a friend of mine from class who was seeing the movie for some extra hours for PED 447, just like myself. It was good to have him there because we both could relate to what was going on in the movie. My buddy that I brought wasn’t so into the movie, he’s a public relations guy. The entire trip for the night was a few minutes shy of 4 hours.


Watching this movie really opened my eyes about American Education and what is going on in our country today. I was alarmed by some of the statistics that were being shown of how bad America is doing in Education. We ranked almost at the bottom of every poll except confidence, which was the only one we were at the top in. Go figure. The movie showed how public schools are failing our students and teachers aren’t working at their best potential. Failure rates are high and some schools are becoming known as “drop-out factories”, because that’s all that’s happening. The movie focused in on a few different students and their journey through public and private schools and then their move to charter schools. These schools are made, but have limited placement in their facility. Some get in and some don’t, but it is an overall an exciting experience to see that people care so much about their education and want what’s best for their children.


Other things like tenure and the dance of lemons were also talked about and have also been taught in PED 470. It was nice to see things we were taught being talked about, in real context in the movie, relating to real life. I feel like this movie should be watched my all teacher candidates before they head out into the schools. It reminds us to always strive for being a great teacher because our children rely so heavily on it. This was a great experience that got me thinking a lot about our education in America. As a future teacher, I couldn’t help but feel motivated even more now, to want to be that “change agent.”

Bowling at Midway Lanes

Today I went down to Midway lanes in Binghamton to volunteer for the Special Olympics bowling tournament. There were around 120 bowlers using 34 lanes. They were broken up into teams and competed against each other. There was one volunteer for every 2 lanes making sure the bowlers bowled in the correct order and took down the scores for each game. Each team bowled two games and had their scores combined for a grand total score for the day. Out of those scores they were placed and received medals at a team ceremony. As the bowlers were called up to receive their medals I placed the medals over their head and shook their hands. They each had the biggest smiles and enjoyed receiving something for their efforts. They were so happy and grateful for what they were able to accomplish.

Having experienced a day like today is something I feel everyone in Physical Education should experience. It was really nice to see something, like bowling, could have such a great impact on someone. These individuals were so excited to be out bowling and competing in an event. The looks on their faces when they would hit the pins was priceless. If they got a strike or a spare, forget it, they were jumping up and down cheering. I would give them a solid handshake or a high five for every time they bowled a strike or a spare, I also gave them to those who didn’t. The support from family, friends, and the organization was also incredible to see. The entire day was 7 hours but it definitely didn't feel like that long. I enjoyed working with these individuals and I am grateful to have experienced such a humbling event.

Special Olympics Adapted Games

On Saturday, October 9th I made the trip back to Long Island for the Adapted games and let’s make a difference day Carnival at St. Joseph's college in Patchogue. The weather was great and there were a ton of participants. When I first got there I met the girl Faith that I have been speaking with over the phone for a while. She was a really nice girl that welcomed me right into the program. I started off at the registration booth checking in all the different agencies and individuals. There were about 15 different agencies from all over the island that came to participate. Most of these agencies consisted of adults with physical and intellectual disabilities. There were some younger participants that were independent and came in with their mother or father to play. After a few hours of registration I became the information desk where I helped direct people and had the opportunity to speak with many of the individuals.
Later on I moved into the gym and observed many of the adapted games being performed. The activities consisted of: bowling, javelin throws, ball throws, bean bag drops, basketball shooting, soccer kicks, batting tee, golf putting, bocce, balloon paddling, tennis, 10m walks, 10m standard wheelchair race, and 10m motorized wheelchair race. It was very active in the gym and there was a DJ playing music in there all day. Everyone was involved in the activities and having a great experience with them. I helped out with them when I could and assisted in equipment management.
I then got a chance to go over to the carnival and take a look around there. They had a huge tent up with all different kinds of food, arts and crafts, music, activities, and free giveaways. They also had a blow up bounce house that many younger participants went in, I was tempted as well. There was a variety act going on that I got to watch with a bunch of the agencies and had a great time doing so. Everyone loved all the events and especially loved that they got to take things home with them. Taking things home made their day and made them so appreciative.
All the participants were split up into two groups. One group spent the morning at the carnival and the other group spent it in the gym. Half way through they got to switch and go to the other section. This worked well so that we didn’t have too many people at the gym or the carnival at one time. At the end I helped clean up and pack everything away for the Special Olympics. I spent 9 hours for this event and it was worth every minute. Overall it was a great day and I am glad I made the trip back home to work with the Special Olympics Long Island Region. I met some great people, the participants and the staff were both very happy I came. It was a great day and I had a lot fun doing it.

Professional Portfolio

NASPE Standard 1
Standard 1- Demonstrates competency in motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities.

Scientific and Theoretical Knowledge- Physical education teacher candidates know and apply discipline-specific scientific and theoretical concepts critical to the development of physically educated individuals.

NASPE Standard 2
Standard 2- Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.

Skill-Based and Fitness-Based Competence- Physical education teacher candidates are physically educated individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to demonstrate competent movement performance and health-enhancing fitness as delineated in NASPE's K-12 Standards

NASPE Standard 3
Standard 3- Participates regularly in physical activity.

Planning and Implementation- Physical education teacher candidates plan and implement developmentally appropriate learning experiences aligned with local, state and national standards to address the diverse needs of all students.

In this leeson plan for squash, I have demonstrated standard 3 by implementing the neccesary components in my lesson plan. It also shows how squash can be an enjoyable lifetime fitness sport for people of all skill levels to participate in.



In my lesson plan for ice skating, I have demonstarted standard 3 by showing the proper ways to stop and turn while on the ice. Also another developmentally appropriate skill to properly get up off the ice when you fall. Like sqaush skating can be a lifetime fitness activity as well for everyone to participate in this type of physical activity.




NASPE Standard 4
Standard 4- Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.

Instructional Delivery and Management- Physical education teacher candidates use effective communication and pedagogical skills and strategies to enhance student engagement and learning.


For the past 3 years I have maintained a health-enhancing level of physical fitness by playing lacrosse for Cortland State. We have a mini fall season and then the full spring season, while also maintaining muscular strngth through out the entire year.



NASPE Standard 5
Standard 5- Exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings.

Impact on Student Learning- Physical education teacher candidates utilize assessments and reflection to foster student learning and to inform instructional decisions.

NASPE Standard 6
Standard 6- Values physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.

Professionalism- Physical Education teacher candidates demonstrate dispositions essential to becoming effective professionals.

EVERY BODY CAN!

Recap of 255

Practical Volunteer Experience

For class we had to have a minimum of 10 volunteer hours. I did my volunteer hours on a make a wish foundation J.V. lacrosse tournament, helping coach a high school club team, and helping out with a graduate study using idance. The Make a wish foundation J.V. lacrosse tournament was run by the lacrosse team on October 11th in the stadium complex. It went from 9am to 4pm and included teams from all over upstate and even a team from Canada. It was a great success and we raised a lot of money for a great cause. I myself worked the clinic part of the tournament where players would come in between games to work on shooting, dodging, and other aspects of the game that we drilled.

My coach has started a club team called the CNY Arrows. It is a team composed of central New York players that practice during the fall and will be playing in tournaments over the summer. I went to their practice for 2 hours and worked with the midfielders on taking face-offs and timing the whistle. It was a great experience because I love to coach and this gave me an opportunity to work with some high school athletes on improving their game.

The last thing that I did was the graduate study on December 9th, from 8-10pm. This was a study being done using an awesome new gaming system called idance. It involves many wireless mats that students can dance on while following arrows displayed from a projector onto the wall. It is similar to DDR but allows up to 30 students to participate at once. I wasn't able to participate in the actual study due to conflicting times for the first part of the study on Monday, but I managed to help in other ways. I helped do thing such as take pictures while the study was going on and help clean up at the end. Overall my volunteer hours were an experience that I was more than happy to complete.